This invention relates to an improved novelty item being a nail cap that can be attached to a human body and provide advantageous decoration.
There is a continuing demand for items of decoration or entertainment which are different or are outlandish or otherwise excel so that people can enjoy and in many ways out do others by having or using such decoration.
The difficulty is to find items and locations for this purpose which can provide advantageous results accordingly.
The object of this invention then is to provide a decoration item which has significant advantage over those items that have been previously used or at least provide the public with a useful alternative.
In accord with this invention then there is provided a nail cap which can effect a luminescent transmission.
In preference, the nail cap has a casing defining a cavity with an upper wall which will transmit visible light therethrough, the cavity having within it a chemical to which can be added a catalyst to effect a luminescent effect.
In preference, the nail cap has a casing shaped so as to have an underneath part which is adapted to be adhered to the finger nail of a wearer.
In preference in accord with this invention however, there is provided a finger nail cap including a casing of plastics material having an upper side with an external convex shape and a lower side definingthere between a cavity, at least one chemical being within the cavity and being a chemical which when activated by a catalyst will effect chemilunminescent, the upper side of the casing at least being transparent or having a part that is transparent so that light from any chemilunminescent reaction within the cavity will shine there through, the lower side having a lowermost shape which is concave on its outer side and of a complementary shape and size to a nail of a intended wearer.
By having luminescent finger nail caps on each of the nails of a wearer with the caps having been activated so as to luminesce, the effect particularly in darkened surroundings such as in a Night club with lower lighting, can be quite spectacular and provide both a visually spectacular effect and one which provides to each wearer significant attraction.
I will now explain a number of specific details as to the variations that I currently envisage in terms of each of the caps that might be used and some of the techniques by which luminescence might be achieved within each of the caps.
The invention can apply both to the caps per se appropriate for this purpose and to the combination of caps when attached to the finger nail of a person or to the toe nails of the person.
As examples of the way in which chemilunminescent effects have previously been provided, I refer to such patents as U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,851 in the name of Kaplan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,645 in the name of Vega, U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,949 in the name of Elliot, Bay et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,302, and Elliott U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,949.
This is not an exhaustive list but illustrates the style of materials and chemicals that are currently known and can be used with this current invention including the chemicals and the catalysts.
This current invention relates to the application of any of these chemilunminescent techniques to the location as nail caps for fingers or toes of a wearer.
The way in which current techniques are used is to have two components that when they are brought together will cause the chemical reaction that provides the luminescence to commence and of course to continue for a period of time governed upon factors which relate to the condition of the chemicals used, their quantities and other external circumstances
What this means however is that in order to commence the luminescence, there has to be an introduction of the one chemical composition into the other where these have been previously kept isolated.
One of the difficulties hitherto has been to ensure that the two chemicals can be kept sufficiently isolated but when necessary, be brought together in an efficient and effective way.
One method is to hold a first chemical composition in a frangible container in the cavity of the cap which can be fractured by external pressure between the upper and lower sides of the cavity.
In order to achieve this vulnerability to fracturing reliably, and also to ensure that there is sufficient impermeability in the materials being used to encapsulate the first chemical composition, glass has been used.
Glass is very effective for impermeability and is very vulnerable to fracture and is therefore an ideal material for this purpose except that once fractured, it can have sharp edges which, it an outside holding device is made to be used in situations where it will be extensively bent or used around the limbs or neck of people, then the characteristic of this outer material has to be such that it can safely contain possible piercing or fracture from internal glass fragments.
Currently, given the extent of possible bending that is required for a typical xe2x80x9clight stickxe2x80x9d it has not been possible to find a clear plastic that will provide sufficient resistance to piercing and accordingly, a plastic is still used but one that is not clear but is sufficiently translucent to allow a substantial proportion of light there through that still is a very much lesser proportion than that available of light from a chemilunminescent reaction.
One of the advantages then of providing an application where this is to be adhered to a surface which will provide substantial support, is that the wall of the casing can now be made so that at least its outer face can be of clear plastic chosen however to be able to contain any of the chemicals in the chemilunminescent process and of course with a cap, then it becomes possible to use internal frangible containers of glass which can therefore be readily fractured by pressure from outside against the inside surfaces and chemilunminescent effect then is significantly improved simply because it can now be viewed through clear plastics material without of course the underlying difficulty of danger to those that might be using the articles.
The invention is not intended to be limited to use of glass containers in its broader concept.